Italian ambassador to China highly praises Hunan
2024-07-24
Ambrosetti’s first stop was the Hunan Museum, where he visited the “She Walks in Beauty: Women of the Han Dynasty and Rome Empire” exhibition. The exhibition was co-hosted by the Hunan Museum and Italy’s Special Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome.
“We will take this exhibition as an opportunity to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, such as expanding cooperation in protecting and restoring cultural relics,” said Ambrosetti. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership. He hopes that the two sides will deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, science and technology, and tourism.
Hunan and the Marche Region, Italy, knotted a friendship province-region relationship in November 2013. Ambrosetti said that the Italian government will join hands with Hunan to help establish sister-city relations between Hunan and other regions in Italy.
How to attract more Italian tourists to Hunan? Ambrosetti suggested more publicity for Hunan’s beautiful natural scenery. “For example, you can promote Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie as a shooting location for the movie ‘Avatar’.”
Ambrosetti said that he will go to the famous Zhangjiajie and Langshan Mountain during his next visit to Hunan. In addition, he is also looking forward to visiting the ethnic villages in the province to learn about local history and culture.
“Another reason that I would like to visit Hunan again is that I’m a big fan of spicy food, so I will definitely come back to eat more Hunan food.” During this trip, he loved Changsha stinky tofu and hand-torn Dongjiang fish. He said that Hunan is a place where scenery and food are appealing.
Where can Hunan tourists go when they travel to Italy? Ambrosetti recommends the Marche Region which has established friendship ties with Hunan, “The Marche Region boasts rich historical and cultural resources and natural landscapes. It is an Italian summer resort, and I often go there for vacation.”
Ambrosetti said that Matteo Ricci, a missionary who came to China during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, was from the city of Macerata in the Marche Region. “If Matteo Ricci could live today, he would still recognize his hometown, because it is almost the same as when he left it more than 400 years ago.”
In addition to the Marche Region, other regions in Italy also have different characteristics, “Hunan friends are welcome to Italy for sightseeing, delicious food and shopping,” Ambrosetti said with a smile.
